Do I really need an Estate Agent to sell?

Sydney_2

We live in an extremely popular area, with great amenities. In fact a very sought after area especially for families. Two identical houses in our road have sold within a few weeks and we constantly have flyers posted regularly by Estate Agents, offering to market our property, if we wish to sell.

My question is, do we really need to employ an Estate Agent? Has anyone ever tried to sell their house without relying on their expertise. Is it really that difficult?

welnik

Im also interested in knowing where I can advertise my property without using estate agents. Ive tried to find website where you can add details, but no joy yet.

[Deleted User]

Anything is possible, it depends how quickly you want to sell. If time isn't an issue, then why not? Try advertising it in the local paper and put up a sign outside your house saying private sale. You can also advertise online, although it never worked for me and I was in a very sought after area in London. Good luck!

jockettuk

im in the process of selling my house and havnt used a estate agent.. my house has a huge garden and is in a non estate location and on a main road althought quite a bit back from the road .. i had a estate agents round to tell me how much it was worth and what i should do to it to make it more presentable.. i started to tell people i was going to put my house up for sale schools are great for this kind of thing and the next thing i know ive got people who have heard im selling asking if they can look at the house.. ive now sold it to a friend of a friend who said not to do anything to the house as he would like to come in and use it as a blank canvas. was going to put new carpets in he said no he would laminate the floors was ripping off wallpaper he said dont redecorate as he has his own ideas..

im saving abt 3 grand in estate agent fees so we halved that and i took it off the price and everyone is happy,, so far lol...

you could put a make shift board up outside your house to let people know your selling see if that gets anyone interested..

alared

EA put their board in your garden,place a couple of ads in the local paper and charge an excessive fee.
They do not earn their fee and I can`t see how they can justify it for the very little they do.
You can put your own board up with your telephone number on it and put your own add in the paper.
You say your in a popular area and word would soon spread that your house is up for sale.
I would say go for it, as you`ve got nothing to lose and plenty to save.

One word of warning,expect the buyers to offer less than the asking price because they will point out "you haven`t used an EA" (so your`re not paying their rip off fees of thousands on pounds)

office_2

This may help you http://www.houseladder.co.uk/SellHome.aspx?source=adwords have not used it but when I was looking you could get your own sign printed for about £30.

When I was looking to potentially sell some garages I printed my own flyers and posted them. A little bit of time and effort can save a lot of money. Consider building a simple website with pictures of your home (more than you would say on an estate agents) and more description. The more information you have available to potential buyers the better I guess.

Prepare your own data sheet with relevant information which can be placed on maybe a notice board at work (if you work for a large company).

I agree with the info before, if you are not desperate to sell you can certainly test the waters yourself. You have nothing to loose really but as alared says plenty to gain!

ceegee

Your local library might have a DIY home selling advice book to borrow. Or try an internet search engine. I have to say that I have often wondered why we "have" to use an estate agent. It just adds enormously to the cost of the whole business and I'm sure that it would be within most peoples' capabilities to DIY if they put their minds to it. The thought of all those thousands saved would be an incentive to me. I will probably be selling my home in about 10 years' time and am hoping to do it without the expensive assistance of an estate agent.

Good luck to you Sydney!